A True Hero
by ccmarie203
Summary: Every person has a chance to be a hero; an opportunity to choose to make a difference. For Nicolette, princess of Arkiva, the opportunity presents itself in the form of tragedy, forcing her to join the fight against Nightmare Enterprises. War leaves permanent scars: vengeance, or freedom. Which is worth fighting for?
1. Prologue

"Red," I cried, gasping. The others turned and looked at me. "The rivers will run red with blood!"

My knees gave way and I collapsed, the world turning a creamy white. Arthur rushed over to me, holding my trembling hand.

"What else?" he pleaded.

"Red with the blood of the just," I coughed. I couldn't control my mind any longer. My distorted vision became clear, revealing a bloody battleground and the shrieks of thousands. "The cries of the wounded will sound like thunder. All hope will seem lost, but a savior will come. One created at the hands of the enemy. One who is kind, just, and innocent. One with the skills of a thousand soldiers, but the will of a babe." The scene changed to a peaceful mushroom-like house under a tree. A small creature appeared in front of me, cocking his head in confusion. It was odd, for the figures of the future never noticed my presence.

Then, as quickly as it had come, the feeling was gone. My vision of the present returned, and I saw my friends huddled around me. Meta Knight's eyes were a pearly white in shock. I relaxed my tense body and looked up into the clear, starry sky. Such peace could not possibly give way to such violence. "It will happen soon," I said, tracing the sky. Hercules gleamed, his weapon raised high above his head. "Be ready."


	2. 1 - The Beginning of the End

(This chapter is mostly Nicolette's backstory :)

Today is the day, I thought. The day my life will change forever. Today is the day I decide which prince I will have to marry. Which man was worthy to rule my kingdom Arkiva. I glanced at the time. 3:45 pm. I was supposed to go meet my suitors at four. I glanced into the mirror. My white silk dress felt smooth against my legs and arms, but hugged my waist so tightly I couldn't breathe. I looked beautiful though. I refused to let my lady-in-waiting do my hair for me. My mother insisted on braids, curled into a suffocating bun that pulled the skin so tight across my face I appeared to be either disgusted or joyfully laughing at everything. I was feeling the more 'disgusted' face. I put my long, wavy hair into a ponytail and tied it with a golden bow to match my golden sashes. My long eyelashes and green eyes stood out from my blond hair and skin with golden eye shadow.

As complimentary as I am to myself, I must note that I am fairly short, shorter than many people, and I had stopped growing when I was fifteen. I'm seventeen now.

My hair, even in a ponytail, still came down to my waist. I picked up my tiara, encrusted with blue diamonds and green sapphires, and fastened it on my head. Looking back at the clock, I saw I only had five minutes. Smirking at my reflection, I slipped on my white slippers and started down the landing outside of my room. One flight down from the entrance, I stopped to listen to the men coming in. I had never met any of the three princes visiting today. I had only been allowed to hear of their nobleness and royalty. While I had no idea what they looked like, they had been sent pictures of me. I had received several letters from them telling me how wonderful I seemed and how excited they were to meet me. Because of the rules of my kingdom, they could not send pictures of themselves to me. It was part of the tradition that the princess not see the suitors before the engagement day.

I was dearly hoping for a knight in shining armor to walk through the palace doors, but I was more than disappointed to even hear them walk in. The first prince to enter had a deep voice and an English accent. When greeting my father, his voice boomed through the grand hall; I could feel the vibrations in the steps. The second prince to enter had a squeaky, shrill, nasally voice. He sounded much like my father when he was sick with pneumonia. Whenever he inhaled, it sounded like barrels of mucus were stuck inside his throat, and he was constantly wheezing. The third and last prince talked in grunts with hardly any intelligible words or phrases.

Exhaling and trying not to panic, I listened for my mother's voice to call me down. As another custom, the king and queen would be the first to make the princes' company. When the greetings were finished, I was to make a grand, yet humble entrance. Just as every princess of Arkiva before me, I had to glide down the stairs, hands clasped, eyes closed and head bowed as a show of humbleness. I had rehearsed this many times with my mother, for my gracefulness was not like that of other princesses. I had fallen at least seven times on the same stupid fold in the carpet.

"Princess Nicolette," my mother called, and I took a deep breath. I said a quick prayer, then closed my eyes and began my ascent. 1...2...3...4...I counted, making sure not to miss a step. There were seventeen in total, the number supposed to represent the maturity of the royal child when they reached the engagement age.

As I neared step twelve, I heard a gasp arise from the three visitors. It took everything within me not to giggle at their boyish surprise. Unfortunately, in my effort to keep a straight face, I lost track of the step I was on. Wait, was I on fifteen or six- "Oof!" I gasped falling on my father's arm. He was waiting for me on the bottom step. I was supposed to gracefully take hold of his arm, not plummet head-first into his chest. Cheeks flushed, I tried my best to regain composure and let my father take over. I heard giggling from the princes. _Fantastic_ , I thought. _I'm officially a ditzy oaf._

"Welcome to Arkiva," my mother said, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "And may we introduce our daughter, Nicolette."

I opened my eyes, and gasped at them. The first prince, Prince Richard, was even shorter than I, and skinny as a twig, if not skinnier.

The second prince, Prince Bill, was almost a foot taller than me, with a nose so big he had to bow his head see the crown of my head. He was also incredibly stout, and his thin, wiry hair didn't hide his giant ears.

The third prince, Prince Diddimus, was a pale purple, almost pasty, with a mustache that covered most of his face, and so muscular I could see his biceps through his robes.

To say in the least, none of them appealed as a lifelong partner to me, much less a ruler of a kingdom.

After several minutes of awkwardly staring at each other, my parents dismissed them to the waiting chambers. Within they would have stacks of doughnuts, fruits, and hot chocolate to keep them occupied.

Once they had left, my mother motioned me to join her in the palace gardens. Her look of embarrassment and anger were gone and replaced with pity. I angrily shouldered past her and into the soft, lush grass. I threw off my shoes and laid down by the fountain, while my mother sat on its edge. The sun was still high enough to blind me, so I looked away from the it and my mother into an apple tree. The pink blossoms were beautiful, and provided shade and housing for a family of scarlet birds.

After a period of awkward silence, my mother finally said, "I...uh...I'm sorry.." I glanced up at her, then back at the beautiful crimson bird. "I was told they were...um..."

"Is this how you and dad met?" I interrupted, scowling at her. She glared at me in disdain. "Sorry," I added, plucking a piece of the grass and twiddling it between my thumbs.

"Well, no," my mother said, "but this is how your grandma met her husband, and her mother met hers, and her mom, and her mom, and so on."

"Then how did you and dad meet?" I demanded, biting on the grass.

"Didn't I tell you?" She asked. When I shook my head, she sighed, blowing the bang in front of her eyes to the side. The sun silhouetted her body, giving her an angelic complexion. "Well, I was a princess of another kingdom, and your father was the prince of this one. We had to go through all of the traditional stuff, but it was easier to marry him because I had met him previously...in a war actually." Her bright eyes darkened. "You see," she said, unsheathing her sword, "your father is part of the Arkiva ninja clan." She studied the blade, wiping it with her dress.

"Yeah, I know," I said, "that's why dad's been training me in ninjutsu. He needs me to lead the clan someday." I felt under my left sock, where I hid my own blade. I was told to keep it on me at all times.

"Yes," she whispered, staring at the apple tree I was looking at earlier, "only because you're the oldest, and you need to defend yourself. When I met your father, he saved my life. Our castle was under attack, and he came and saved me from the mouth of a monster named Wolfwrath. He and your uncle, Tomas, were fighting together. The whole clan was there, and even a few GSA soldiers."

I knew what the Galaxy Soldier Army, or commonly known as the GSA, was. Several childhood friends of mine had enrolled already. Even though the war has been waging for several hundred years, the fight between the GSA and Nightmare Enterprises was still at large. Their goal was to stop evil monsters from destroying the good and taking control of the universe. The Star Warriors were the elite soldiers among them, who possessed warp stars and sometimes had special powers. Not everyone could be a Star Warrior. Only those born with the destiny and strength could do it.

"While they were fighting, your father lost his best friend and brother by choosing to save me and my family. We want you to be able to defend yourself, hoping you won't be as defenseless as I was. Your father has been teaching you skills that only he and his brother knew."

Slipping her blade back into its cover along her waist, she turned and smiled at me. "I know that these guys aren't the handsomest, smartest or funniest princes out there. But for the sake of the clan and the kingdom, choose one.'' With that, she gave me a kiss on the forehead and sent me to my room to put on my evening gown and prepare for the banquets.

"And Nicole," my mother called one last time.

"Yes?" I sighed.

"I want to see the bun in your hair tonight!"


	3. 2 - Strange Visitors

My dress for the banquets was white and sleeveless, and had a golden sash drawn tightly around my waist. I wore golden slippers, and despite my mother's command, I took the hair that framed my face and tied it back with a golden bow. Sighing as my lady-in-waiting scolded me for not doing my hair right, I walked to the ballroom to meet Prince Richard.

"Good evening, Princess Nicolette," he said his thick hair dripping in sweat.

"Good evening," I responded, stooping a bit to hold his arm. He walked me to the dining room, where my four younger brothers waited for me.

It is important to note who they are because they meant a lot to me. The oldest of the four was Zac, age fifteen. He had wavy blond hair as well, but had blue eyes and was much taller than I was. He knew more about running a kingdom than I did. Then the twins Austin and Alex, both age thirteen, but Austin loved to say that he was two minutes and twenty-two seconds older. Both had straight, dark brown hair and blue eyes. The youngest, and sweetest, of the four was Kyle, who had just turned ten. He was a ginger with a head full of curls, and chocolate brown eyes.

Each boy had already taken a seat at the table, sitting according to age. I took my seat by Zac, who winked and whispered in my ear, "He seems like a real winner!" I smirked and smacked his hand. My brothers had to accompany me during the banquets to learn the "etiquette of royalty".

Prince Richard took his seat across from me, looking down the long row of siblings. "You certainly have a...lovely family," he ventured, smiling at each of the boys. They each attempted to smile back, except for Austin, who insisted on flaring his nostrils at the poor man. Richard looked bewildered.

At first, he tried talking about political and diplomatic things, even too complex for Zac, so he changed topics to famous wars in Arkiva history; he was a real history buff. It was nice that he took the time to learn about our kingdom's famous wars, but he was boring.

After my dinner with Richard, he kissed my cheek(I really had to stoop for that) and went to the waiting room. Next I had dinner with Prince Bill. I had to stand on my tiptoes to take his arm. He pulled my chair out for me and made sure I was set before taking his own seat. He was a little more interesting, but all he could talk about were his cars and hunting trips. He sometimes got so gory in his descriptions of the deer he hunted, I wanted to puke. His voice made it worse. Despite his politeness and manners before he ate, he inhaled his food like it was oxygen. When it was over, my brothers and I prepared for the third and final one.

"These guys are jokes!" Alex exclaimed once Prince Bill was back in the waiting room.

"Tell me about it," I mumbled.

"Hey!" Zac yelled. "These guys may be the bottom of the barrel as far as princes go, but Nikki(this is his nickname for me) has to choose one. Their home kingdoms have powerful armies, and we need a way to protect them and us from Nightmare's monsters." Zac, even though he was two years younger than me, was ready to rule a kingdom. My parents even gave him the diplomacy position when he was thirteen. He should've been getting ready to lead millions of people, not me.

Suddenly, there was an urgent knock coming from the east wing of the castle, where the dining hall was. Standing and smoothing my dress, I went to greet the visitor. _It can't be Prince Diddimus,_ I wondered. _He would've greeted me in the banquet hall._

Opening the door, I stood face-to-face with a blue puffball in a large mask covering his whole face. Only his yellow eyes were revealed through a narrow v-shaped eye slit. He had a long dark blue cape and shoulder pads with gold trimmings on the side. On his left, he carried a sword scabbard with a rusty silver blade. On his right shoulder was the fabled warp star. I gasped in surprise. This guy was a Star Warrior. Behind him, a battalion of troops and a few other Star Warriors stood saluting me.

"Good evening Princess," the Star Warrior said in a deep voice, bowing to me. I liked his accent. "We have been summoned by your father. May we come in?"

"Of course," I replied, opening the door all of the way. "We are in the middle of a banquet, but I'm sure the king and queen wouldn't mind postponing for a bit." Nodding, the warrior stepped inside followed by his troops. My brothers stood in their seats to greet the visitors.

"Nicolette!" my father yelled. "You are making Prince Diddimus wait! Why aren't you..." he stopped short when he saw the troops.

"Good evening, your Majesty," the blue Star Warrior greeted, shaking hands with my father.

"Good evening, Meta Knight," my father replied in relief. "I'm so glad you made it on such short notice." Meta Knight chuckled, then signaled to his troops to follow the king out.

"Nice to meet you, Princess-?" he started, pulling out my chair.

"Nicolette, but most call me Nikki," I nervously chattered, practically tripping over the chair. He wished us well, then left to find my father, just as Prince Diddimus came in. Since I didn't understand what the prince even had to say, I let my brothers do the talking and imagined why there were Star Warriors here. Meta Knight seemed to be a high ranking soldier, as he had his own troops. He also seemed very courteous and polite. I wonder what could be wrong? Why was my father calling in the most skilled warriors in the galaxy?


	4. 3 - Fallen Kingdom

The dinner was finally over. Once Prince Diddimus had left me alone, I had to think about who I would choose. I only had ten minutes to decide. But all I could think about was the Star Warriors, Meta Knight, and the war waging within the universe, and why my father would call in the strongest, most skilled warriors. Was the war coming to us? Was our clan in trouble? Why was Meta Knight here? The thoughts rumbled on and on until Zac jerked me into reality.

"Nikki? Nicolette! NICOLETTE!" he shouted, making me jolt. "You need to focus on choosing one of...well...them!" He pointed to the waiting lobby where the princes were. "The kingdom's future and well-being rest in this decision!"

"Or it could rest with dad and the Star Warriors," I countered, gazing at the empty plates being carted away by servants. "Dad knew that I would be choosing a suitor today; I don't think he scheduled some meeting with them a while ago. I think he called them here for an emergency, and he's not telling us why."

"I guess, but for the sake of the 'now', please choose. If you ask me, Prince Bill was nice," Zac said, but I just shook my head.

"I'm not marrying any of those guys," I said, standing up and turning away.

"But Nikki, you don't have a choice," said Kyle.

"I know!" I snapped, then sat back down and almost burst into tears. "How am I supposed to spend the rest of my life with somebody I don't know anything about?!"

Just then, a knock sounded from the lobby where the princes waited. "May I come in?" said the strong, deep voice.

"One second," I answered, cleaning my face from tears and smoothing down the table before allowing the warrior to enter.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but, uh..your father is currently busy and asked me to, um, call you out here, to..ahem..choose a..suitor?" Meta Knight asked, nervously poised in the doorway with his cape flowing around him.

"Oh...right..." I mumbled, standing and sighing. He motioned for me to follow him through the door and down the hallway. My brothers watched in confusion.

"I can tell you are not excited to see them again," he said, walking in step with me.

"That's an understatement," I said, looking at every little crack in the palace walls. I slowed down. Meta Knight slowed down too.

"You know, they don't seem that bad," he said, trying to get me to feel hopeful.

"I don't know if I do know. I mean, I don't even know them. I just met all of them today. The only conversation I've ever had with them was a 20 minute one over dinner. And now I have to choose one to spend the rest of my life with and rule the kingdom, and I have to choose based off what they 'seem' like, not what they are like," I vented, angrily balling my fists in frustration and praying I wouldn't embarrass myself with my temper, which was extremely short.

"Well, that's how all relationships begin," he said gently. "You meet the person, and you decide if what they seem like is good or bad, and you begin to get to know them. Only through time can you really discern if what they seemed like is who they are."

"Right, and because of our stupid customs, time is what I don't have," I sighed as we arrived at the door.

"Whoever you choose I know will be good," he smiled, "because you 'seem' to have good judgment." He winked at me, then opened the door for me and allowed me to step inside. The room was huge, with windows looking out of the north side of the tower, giving a view of our entire kingdom. Tapestries and rugs and curtains and couches were strategically placed to give one comfort and ease, and bonbons sat at the table in the midst of the couches. The bowl had been completely polished off. My mother then entered from the west door, but came alone. She looked worried, worrying me. My father wouldn't, couldn't miss this. His girl was about to choose the next king. Whatever Meta Knight and his troops were here for was obviously important, but I didn't guess that it was this important. Five iron-clad soldiers followed my mother as she took her place beside me, her grave face studying the floor. The five soldiers joined with Meta Knight, whispered back and forth, then took their place in front of the windows, backs toward us, surveying the houses and buildings. Looking at Meta Knight, surrounded by soldiers, with his left hand hovering over the hilt of his sword, made me turn pale. Something was definitely not right.

"Nicolette, princess of Arkiva, the time has come to choose a new king, to lead the next generation of our people..." my mother said, her voice shaking. "Choose dear," she whispered, taking my hand. It shook violently in mine. The princes all stood up as straight as they could, sweat gleamed on their heads and arms, their smiles wavering in anticipation.

"Do the soldiers have to be in here for this? This is kind of private..." I whispered to my mother.

"I'm afraid so dear," she shook, looking back down at the floor. "Now choose before I choose for you."

Why couldn't Meta Knight be a choice?! I thought, looking at my options. He seemed to be a great guy...funny, charming, witty, wise, heck, he even pulled out my chair for me and opened doors for me, which is more than the princes had even tried. These guys were no Meta Knights. But, a choice had to be made.

"I choose..." I began, twiddling my hands, "I choose..." Meta Knight glanced back at me, nodding and giving me a thumbs-up. Oh, why?! "I choose Prince -" But before I could finish, a terrifying shriek filled the sky. Meta Knight, who had been watching me, whipped around, just as the glass in front of him shattered and a huge, black beast with a long, sharp beak and jagged teeth ascended on him. Flesh met fangs and his yelp of pain filled the air.

"Meta Knight!" I screamed, pulling out my concealed blade and pushed past the three men. My mother was screaming at me to stop. I hurled myself in the air and back-flipped, my extended right leg hitting the soft throat of the giant bird under its jaw, forcing its head and body to spiral away from me. It fell back, gurgling. I raced towards it with my sword drawn by me as if I were about to unleash an arrow from a bow, and plunged it into the exposed belly of the beast. It shrieked and swept a massive wing towards my head. I raised my left arm in front of my face, formed in a perfect L to absorb the damage, but the wing of the beast met metal and the tissue of the wing split around me. I looked up to see Meta Knight, sword drawn, standing beside me. The monster reared and kicked, knocking us both off of our feet as it regained its balance. Raising a giant claw on its foot, it prepared to strike us.

"Throw me up on 3!" I yelled. Meta Knight glanced at me, his eyes turning orange in surprise and confusion. "Trust my judgment!" I yelled again, his eyes turning green as he realized my plan.

"One, two... three!" I screamed, rolling my back over onto Meta Knight just as the monster's foot came down on us. He caught me with his legs and flipped me up so I was standing on his feet. Grunting, he pushed me up as I jumped into the air, my blade colliding with the monster's foot. Pushing it up and away, I continued to soar through the air until my blade met its target in the bird's throat. The beast gargled in pain, screamed, then disappeared in a flash of static and electricity. I fell back down hands first, somersaulting on the landing to soften the blow. I stood up and ran over to Meta Knight, who was also standing. "Are you okay?!" I asked, looking at his bleeding right arm.

"I'll be fine," he insisted, looking behind us. "But I can't say the same for your kingdom." I turned around too, and my suspicions of my father came true. Two other beasts were in the room, and he, my mother, and other soldiers were fighting them. The princes had fled in terror. I turned toward the broken window and almost fainted. I black cloud had overcome the blue skies and hundreds of thousands of monsters fell from the skies in ships, on wings, or other hovercraft. Out of the skies to challenge them also came thousands of Star Warriors. Smoke rose from homes as families ran, looking for escape, and Star Warriors ushered them to safety while fighting with the beasts. The sound of flesh hitting metal and claws colliding with flesh was loud and rang in my ears. Screams of people, warriors and monsters alike rang in the air. The war had found us. My kingdom was falling apart. I looked hopelessly at Meta Knight, who had rushed into the heat of another battle with a monster. _My people_ , I thought, picking up my blade and letting out a battle cry. I ran and attacked the monster on my father and Meta Knight from behind. _My kingdom was going to die._


	5. 4 - The Sound of War

"Yyyaaaaa!" I screamed, slashing the spikes off of the monster's back. The giant lizard turned its ugly head to me, opening its mouth and breathing out poisonous fumes. I held my breath and dodged the monster's swinging arm, just as my father and Meta Knight jumped and performed a combo move, plunging their swords into the monster's back and slicing down along its spine. It yelled in agony and fell down, also splitting in half in a cloud of static.

"Why do they die like this?" I yelled over the chaos to my father as he sliced a giant spider in half.

"They're not really living," he yelled back, jumping over me to dice a bat two times my size. "They're just monsters...kind of like machines. Created by N.M.E. If all monsters were living, they would have a mind of their own. Free will. These demon beasts only do Nightmare's bidding. He does have living monsters, though."

"Traitors?" I asked, performing an uppercut kick into a smaller dragon's neck and twisting my body clockwise, my blade swinging cleanly through its neck.

"To the GSA, yes," Meta Knight answered, leaping over the horde of monsters coming through the smashed windows.

"Enough talk, we need to evacuate. Nicole," my father said, "round up your brothers and mother and meet in the castle courtyard. If you pass anyone still hiding in the castle, bring them too. Meta Knight and I will hold off these monsters long enough for you all to get to safety. I'll meet you in the ship!" When I nodded, my father gathered all of his strength and sent a double sword beam through the wall of beasts, creating an opening. I sprinted through, grabbing my mother as I went and burst through the doors into the dining room. Thousands of small monsters with claws and swords were attacking my brothers. My mom folded her arms in and out, then circled them, creating a giant blue orb of energy, and raised her arms above her head, causing blue lightning streaks to explode from her body. My brothers and I all raised our arms in Xs, reflecting the energy onto the monsters. It was our family's most practiced and best group move. Every monster in the room blew up or was electrocuted.

"Thanks, mom," Austin and Alex said in unison, and we all raced to the castle courtyard, stopping in the kitchen and pantry to grab any cooks or helps still hiding.

"The entrance is at the end of this hall. Keep goi-" My mom yelled, but was cut off by an ear-splitting cracking noise. The stone arch above the entrance collapsed in a cloud of smoke and debris. Coughing, we climbed the rubble and looked at the fiery cloud covering the garden. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and the air was still. Too still. Not a sound was heard. Not even the scarlet birds my mother and I had adored earlier.

"HHEELLP-" said a cook behind me. I whipped around but wasn't fast enough. She disappeared into the smoke, her midsection enticed by a long tail, her scream cut short.

I closed my eyes, knowing she wouldn't be coming back, and whispered, "Stay on your guard. There's a giant snake...it took one of the cooks." Some of the helps gasped, then clung to each other.

"Just stay together," my mother whispered. Our group slowly advanced with my family circling the remaining group. Zac and Kyle took up the rear, My mom and I in the front, and Austin on the left, Alex on the right.

Sssszzzz…. The snake slithered. I held my breath, raising my hand in a fist for us to stop. It was quiet for a few seconds, then WHAM! Its giant tail swept under our feet and caught us, squeezing us. Its giant head appeared through the clouds, tongue sweeping across its scaly lips.

"Family shockwave on my count," I whispered, as it tightened its grip on us. I wheezed as I felt myself tense up and lose my breath.

"Stay relaxed," said Zac, taking slow, deep breaths.

"One, two, three...Now!" I yelled, focusing my energy into a giant golden circle about me, sending off forks of lightning like my mom's. My brothers and mom joined in, my mom's glowing blue, Zac's green, Austin's orange, Alex's purple, and Kyle's white. We all yelled as the shock grew and the constriction tightened around us. The help behind me began gasping, suffocating. The lightning we sent off wound together, and as the snake opened its mouth to eat us, we sent it down its throat. It gargled, and began to cough up smoke. The help behind me began to grow limp. "Come on!" I screamed, feeling my own body go numb and turn pale. Suddenly, the snake's tail relaxed, dropping us onto the ground. We all sucked in air, breathing heavy. I could feel my arms and stomach bruising. The snake fell to the ground, then blew up in a puff of smoke. I turned to the help behind me, who was unconscious.

"Come on! Get up! We can still - get - away," I wheezed, shaking him. I opened his mouth, and his tongue had turned blue. I put my head on his chest, listening for a heartbeat or feeling for breath. There was nothing. I lifted my head, and looked at my mom, shaking my head. Her face fell in despair but lifted when we heard footsteps. I turned and saw Meta Knight and my father racing toward us, burned and bruised.

"What happened?" my father exclaimed, looking at the body on the ground.

"We got held up by a giant snake...it took us by surprise. We killed it, but not before it squeezed Donte and ate Mikiko," my mom whispered, standing and leaning on my father. Her face was cut near her eye, and blood dribbled down onto her white dress, staining it. Meta Knight bowed his head and made a fist over his heart with his right arm, a sign of respect and mourning for the dead commonly practiced by the GSA.

"We need to keep going," The star warrior said, and pulled out his sword. "More are coming." He gestured to the right, and I could see a flock of monster dragons flying toward us. They shot fire from their mouths, blowing parts of the castle off. My mother nodded, and with the help of my father, began to sprint out into the open, outside of the castle. We followed, swords and blades drawn.

I caught up to Meta Knight and asked, "What happened to the other soldiers?"

His eyes turned light blue as he responded, "They stayed behind to let your father and I escape." He glanced back toward the castle, then back ahead of him. His eyes faded into a fiery red. "They won't be coming back." With a loud battle cry, he raced ahead of my parents and began deflecting fire and lightning being shot at our group from the pack of dragons. I followed, racing ahead to fight with him. Just then, a stream of fire hit us from the left and caught us by surprise. I fell to my feet, my head hitting the stone ground hard. I lay limp for a minute, not knowing what was happening. Gaining control of my arms, I pushed myself up into a sitting position and looked around. Everything was hazy, but I could make out my family lying on the ground a few hundred feet away from me. I had run ahead farther than I had thought. I looked in the direction where the fire had come from, and my vision cleared. A huge dragon, protected by armor and spikes, was standing on its hind legs. Its tiny arms were armed with huge, black, spiked boxing gloves. A horn protruded from its head, its snake-like red eyes glared down at my father. A shadowy figure sat on top in a saddle, chains held in his hands, controlling the dragon.

"Sorera o shūryō" the shadow said, and the dragon bent down, its jaws gaping.

"No," I mumbled, struggling to get up. My head throbbed, and my right temple seared like fire. Warm liquid streamed down my face. I hobbled to my father, who was trapped under a fallen piece of the castle. From his waist down he was crushed, and blood was beginning to ooze from under the rock. His face was pale with pain, and he gasped for air.

"Nikki," He gasped, "Get away from here. Leave."

"I can't do that," I cried. "I need to get you all to the ship, it's right -" I glanced behind me, but no ship was visible. The escape ship had left. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Meta Knight, bleeding from several cuts.

"There is nothing that you can do now," he whispered, pulling me away as the monster came ever closer. "Even if we could get him out from under that debris, he's lost too much blood. He wouldn't make it."

"NOOO!" I screamed, fighting back to my father's side and slashing the dragon in the face. It reared back in pain.

"Nicolette!" My father croaked, grabbing my wrist. I looked down. "Go. and never...look... back." He smiled weakly at me as Meta Knight scooped me up under my back and knees and ran away. I watched my father and family as the mighty dragon bent down and caught them in its mouth. I turned and covered my eyes as I heard their screams. The dragon's roar covered their cries. I opened my eyes and gazed out into the bleakness in front of us, my father's words echoing in my mind. _Never look back...Never look back._ Everything became a blur as we ran through smoke, dodging monster attacks.

"Nicole, can you run?" Meta Knight gasped, but I couldn't respond. I was in total shock. I couldn't control any part of my body. It felt like I was in a dream. Suddenly, it went black, and all I knew was Meta Knight's heavy breathing and the sounds of war. Monsters roared and screams of citizens surrounded me. Meta Knight's words danced in my head too. _There is nothing that you can do now…_ I heard a ship, much louder than the escape ship, ahead of us. I tried to look but wasn't able to open my eyes. I felt Meta Knight run us aboard and drop me gently on the ground. Voices talked urgently to him and to me. I couldn't make out what was being said. The cool floor of the ship was refreshing. Who knew one could feel refreshed in the middle of destruction. I welcomed it. I felt my consciousness fading, and I let it go. I thought of my family. How they were gone. Devoured by a dragon. I wanted to die too.


	6. 5 - Battle for the Skies

**Meta Knight**

Panting, I fell to my knees as I set her unconscious body on the floor; her blond hair fell in waves. The nurse, Amai, hurried over with her medic bag. She treated Nicolette's bleeding temple first.

"What happened?" she asked, wrapping a yellowing bandage around the wound.

"A lot," I gasped, and hurried over to the cockpit. "How's she holding up?"

"This ship can take a lot Meta Knight," my friend Jecra replied, slipping on his headset, "but the Dreamer can't take it all."

I nearly fell out of seat when a large blast rocked the old ship. The dragon that took Nicolette's family was coming for us. The figure on top looked...familiar.

"We need to get out of here! Fast!" Falspar cried, trying to close the hanger. The pack of dragons was coming closer. "Start the engine!"

Jecra hesitated. "But we can't until the hanger is clos-"

"DO IT NOW!" Falspar commanded, slashing at smaller beasts entering the ship.

I turned on the engine, and the ship jolted as it roared to life. I turned the controls over to a nervous Jecra and drew my sword. Jumping over the seats, I sprang right into the action.

The dragons came in an endless stream, sticking their claws, wings, arms, and snouts into the door. I slashed one dragon's arm, causing it to lose its grip and free fall through the air, taking a few others with it. I fought my way to Falspar, and battled the beasts side by side. We were holding up until the ship violently jerked to the right. Falspar and I fell backwards away from the opening, while the beasts tumbled inside.

"Sorry! I'm still new to this..." Jecra cried from the cockpit. Groaning, I regained my balance only to lose it again as Jecra tilted the ship to left, causing the beasts to tumble out, including any objects not fastened down.

"JECRA STOP!" Amai screamed. The ship was tilting too far.

"What are you doing?!" I too yelled, sliding down toward the hatch. Monsters fell down into the open. Jecra had succeeded in getting us high up in the air, but not in righting the ship. Falspar was falling head over heals.

The wind blew around me as we fell onto the platform. I plunged my sword into the metal, the screeching sounding like nails on a chalkboard as I continued to fall.

"Help!" Falspar called, his arms flailing. He lost his sword, and a large crow-like beast had grabbed him. It was determined to take him and itself down. My poorly made sword wasn't sticking in the metal either. I tried and tried again to stick it in, but consistently failed. The edge was approaching fast. I had to find a way to save myself and Falspar.

With only a few feet separating us and death, I used what little depth my sword had penetrated into the platform to swing myself Falspar's way. I grabbed the demon beast and pried a spike from its wing. It howled in pain and let go of Falspar, and tumbled off the edge a few inches from us. I grabbed Falpar's hand and plunged the new weapon into the edge with my left hand, just as we fell over.

"Oof," I grunted as the weight of myself and the warrior took a toll on my arm.

"Aahh! Woah!" Falspar screamed, dangling and flailing. It taxed my grip strength even more. The edge of the spike was digging into my hand. Monsters fell around us.

"Falspar..stop...STRUGGLING..." I groaned through clenched teeth. The air was getting thinner as we continued to ascend. Monsters fell down past us, claws and teeth trying to grab us. We used our weight to swing and avoid the falling objects. My own sword, losing its grip in the metal, clipped my fingers holding the spike. I winced in pain and felt a finger slip. The sword tumbled past us and into the grey abyss beneath us. Man we were high. Why did Jecra have to be such a bad pilot?

That's when he finally decided to right the plane. Problem was, the angle I had shoved the spike into the platform could only hold us if the ship stayed tilted to the left.

"Stop Jecra! Please!" I begged, the metal on the edge creaking. The spike was prying off the metal welded to the edge. Not only this, but the platform was digging into my wrist at weird angles. When we were falling, the ship had turned almost sideways, and made it easy to hook the edge while keeping my arm straight. Now the turning platform was bending the bone just above my wrist. I yelled again, "I need to pull us up! Just-"

Then CRACK! The metal edging peeled away. For a few seconds, Falspar and I were freefalling. I had lost almost all control and was freaking out. I flailed my arms, tumbling in circles, until a steady hand righted me. Once I was falling belly-down I looked up at Falspar. He looked as hopeless as I felt. I could use my wings...NO! Revealing them and living would confirm what they thought of me. I couldn't, wouldn't. I thought of my warp star, just given to me by the Captain. My training had been short, but maybe it would be enough.

I took the star from my shoulder and threw it down. It immediately expanded, large enough to catch both of us.

"Uggh!" I grunted as I fell onto the yellow metal. I stood up on the star and helped Falspar to his feet as well.

"How do you fly this thing?!" Falspar asked, nervously poised on the star.

"Just hang on and don't fall off," I replied, and leaned forward on the star, making it go up and forwards. Although my time in training with a warp star had been short, I knew that leaning would change its direction.

"Uhh..MK..." Falspar said, voice shaking.

"What now?" I demanded, turning back toward him.

"We've got company," he answered, pointing over his shoulder. I looked too, and was chilled to the bone. The shadow figure and his dragon were still in hot pursuit of us.

"Crap..." I muttered, and veered the warp star to the left. I thought that maybe if I made sharp, sudden turns, the beast wouldn't be able to follow. "Falspar, keep me updated on what it does," I commanded, and turned right, left, then circled up and over.

"MK, if you're trying to throw it off, it ain't working!" Falspar shouted. The beast roared, seeming to laugh at us. It shot a blast of fire at us, colliding with the star. It tilted, and both Falspar and I tumbled off.

"I'm so sick of fighting in the sky!" Falspar groaned. The dragon flew beneath us and opened its jaws wide. It intended to devour us the same way it devoured the king and queen.

BAM! I felt the cold metal of the warp star as it caught us once again. It was glowing, a sign it was growing weak. The figure recognized this, and flew up to us. The sun, now visible high above the clouds, silhouetted the beast's head and the figure. Its wings were huge, and the sound of its flapping was like thunder.

While warp star was barely able to support us, it made a feeble attempt to get away. But it was all in vain, for the dragon spun its tail and hit us, sending cracks down its center and knocking us off. As we fell once again, the warp star shrunk back to its normal size and attached itself to my shoulder. My head throbbed in pain from the impact.

So this is it, I thought. The war-torn ground of Arkiva became visible as we fell through the clouds. The dragon roared behind us.

Suddenly, the roar changed to a high pitched squeal of pain. I flipped so I was falling belly-up and saw Amai on gliderwings, sending sword beams into the dragon. I watched in astonishment. Amai wasn't that experienced of a warrior either. I couldn't even do that yet.

"Get him! Yeah!" Falspar cheered, as the figure yanked the chains, guiding the dragon in retreat. Amai watched as the dragon flew off in defeat, then folded her wings back into the silver box strapped around her shoulders and waist. She flipped in the air, then folded her arms in and fell toward us face-down like she was diving.

She quickly caught up to us and took my right wrist. Falspar grabbed my left hand and took Amai's right.

"Hang on!" she shouted over the wind, then reactivated the boosters on the wings. My already weak hand gave out on Falpsar, but Amai was stronger than both of us put together. She skillfully used the wind currents to help propel us back up to the ship.

"Uuggh.." Falspar moaned as Amai set us roughly on the ground.

"Hey, feel lucky I saved your sorry hide," Amai snapped, shutting the ship hanger. "When I saw you two falling out of the ship, I grabbed this and flew to save you." She sighed and took off the wings. "You weren't prepared for this mission."

Although that last comment was insulting, I muttered "Thank you," and collapsed on the ground.

"Yeah, thanks," Falspar added, leaning against a wall.

"I think I have the controls figured out now..." Jecra said, pressing a blue button. The ship blasted violently upwards, then immediately leveled off. I felt as though I was falling again.

"Just what I get for working with a bunch of newbies," she grumbled, sitting down in the cockpit. Taking the controls from Jecra, she called back to us, "Keep an eye on the girl. She's not looking so good."

Nicolette! I thought, and looked over to the back of the ship. Amai had belted her to a stretcher in the wall. Her bandage was soaked with blood.

"She looks pretty good to me," Falspar smirked under his mask. I smirked back. Amai turned and glared at him. He swept his hand through his red mohawk and nervously added, "Compared...to some injuries I've seen."

"Shush. There's an incoming command from the Captain," she warned, and tuned the radio.

"Nice recovery," I whispered. Falspar gave me a fist bump. Amai was the leader of our crew for this mission, and extremely deadly if you got on her bad side.

"Come in Dreamer...Come in Dreamer...are you alright?" the Captain said.

"We're here, what's the situation?" Amai responded, punching in some numbers.

"I'm calling for an immediate evacuation of Arkiva! Get out of there now!"

"Why?" Jecra asked, on the edge of his seat. Falspar and I looked at each other in concern.

"N.M.E. is planning to blow the planet up! The impact will destroy all remaining planets in the Solar System! T-minus 10 minutes! Get going!" With that, the radio went out.

"Engaging hyper speed!" Amai said, flipping some controls and levers. "Take a seat, it could be a bumpy ride!"

A grabbed hold of a safety handle along the wall and held on to Nicolette's stretcher as well. Falspar did the same.

"Here we go!" Amai yelled, and the colors in front of the ship turned white. We had to travel millions of light years in ten minutes. I looked uncertainly at Falspar as the velocity of the ship increased as it gained speed. The skin on my face pulled back and I felt as though I were being stretched. Amai sat gracefully in her chair, having been on missions before involving hyper space. I really was inexperienced. I hoped we would make it out.


	7. 6 - Asteroid

The turbulence was getting worse. Nicolette's stretcher shook violently.

"T-minus 5 minutes! I have to go faster or we won't make it!" Amai yelled, moving a lever forward.

"Dreamer can't handle that, Amai!" Jecra yelled back, clutching the wheel. As if in response, the ship squealed and the metal on the ship's front exterior began to peel.

"Don't fail me now," Amai whispered, and pushed the lever up all of the way.

"Aargh!" I moaned, the speed and velocity too much to bear. I had no experience with hyper speed. I gripped the princess's stretcher even tighter, and her head fell and brushed my arm. Something wet and warm touched me too. Looking down, I saw her nose was bleeding. The several cuts on my own body began bleeding faster too. Suddenly, I was worried about her temple.

"Falspar...can...you...grab a clean...bandage?" I shouted through clenched teeth. I felt as though someone was skinning me.

"I...can..try," Falspar gasped, fighting the pull against us and bending down to the medicine bag. After rummaging through it for a few moments, he found a roll of cloth. "Catch," he said, and tossed it to me.

I had a hard time catching it, since it seemed time itself was suspended. The bundle seemed to fight the pull too as it flew toward me. I caught it with one hand and with the other clung to the safety handle. I ungracefully dropped to my knees and took a stab to the gut from the stretcher. Taking off her old bandage, my suspicions were correct. The flow was harder than it had been previously. I tore some cloth and dabbed the blood on her face. I made sure no blood got in her eyes. She had the most extraordinary green eyes. I stuffed some cloth in her nose to stop that bleeding, too, and opened her mouth so she could breathe. She'd probably have a fit later once she realized I shoved fabric up her nose. Tying the new fabric around her temples, I fastened her down again and regained my balance.

"T-minus 2 minutes!" Jecra exclaimed. "Amai, how much farther?"

"One and a half light years," she replied, grinning. "I think we can make-"

 _ **SCREEEEECCCHHH**_. She was interrupted by the painful sound of metal pulling away from metal. The exterior armor in the front of the ship, previously peeling away, came completely off and hit the windshield. Cracks spiraled down the glass in a spiderweb. Jecra raised his shield in front of Amai to protect her, but no shards of glass flew in.

"She's falling apart!" Falspar exclaimed. More screeching was heard as the exterior armor of the ship continued to fall off.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious!" Amai yelled at him and pushed a big glowing button. A green force field appeared around the ship.

"What are you doing?! You can only activate that once!" Jecra cried.

"We have one minute to escape or we're toasted," Amai replied. "The shield stays active for a minute...ish. This'll hold the ship together long enough for us to get out of this system."

"And if it doesn't last long enough?" I asked.

"Try to be positive," she complained, but gripped her seat.

Suddenly, a countdown timer appeared on the control screen. It was counting down from a minute. _We've still got to go half a light year_ , I thought and said a quick prayer. Several seconds passed in suspenseful silence. It was so quiet, I thought I could hear everyone's adrenaline pumped heartbeats. _Bum...Buh-Bum...Buh-Bum..._

10...9...8...7… The timer read. Sweat was rolling down Jecra's face. I peered out the back window, unable to see anything but the white flashing light.

3\. 2. 1. A sound louder than an explosion pounded our ear drums. We covered our ears and gazed at the massive orange cloud of fire racing towards us. It was traveling faster than hyper speed. Our savior, the shield, was fading.

"The asteroid belt is close! Just a few seconds," Amai said, desperately clutching Jecra's shield. The belt marked the edge of Nicolette's system.

I looked out again, and the fire had quickly caught up with us. Its red flames licked the Dreamer's exposed interior. Sweat was dripping down all of us now. The temperature was rising.

The edges of the flames were now visible out the front windshield. The spiderweb of cracks grew. The belt was right in front of us.

"Aaahhh!" we all screamed and crossed the first line of asteroids. Amai cranked the lever back and the ship seemed to almost stop. I flew forward onto my face. Falspar did the same, and Jecra and Amai's heads whipped forward, seat belts the only thing stopping them from flying through the broken glass. Dazed, I got to my feet and looked out the window. I was bewildered.

"What the heck?" Jecra said, turning around. The fire, chasing us not a moment ago, was suddenly trapped behind the asteroid line. An invisible force seemed to suppress it, for the fire pushed against it, balling up against the invisible barrier. The asteroid belt stretched in an ellipse around the planets, so the destructive heat was contained inside a massive ring.

I glanced at the unconscious girl next to me. Whoever was left on her planet, trying to escape, was dead. I made a fist over my heart and looked down so my eyes were no longer visible through my mask. I was surprised by this war tactic. N.M.E probably lost most of the legions he sent there.

"Hey, boys...we ain't in the clear yet," Amai said, firing up the gun turrets in the ship. I looked at her in confusion. What could possibly happen now? "Who's played Asteroid?"

I couldn't believe my ears. "You plan on blasting out of here?" I demanded and looked at the minefield in front of us.

"You got a better idea, Mr. Prodigy?" Amai criticized. I narrowed my eyes and looked away. I knew she was right. But I also despised it when she made fun of me. I knew it was common for new soldiers, but it was my first mission. Yes, I was a Star Warrior, but that didn't make me perfect. "If this ship takes any hits, we're goners," she continued, interrupting my thoughts. "The only way to make it out now is through force. We can't afford risky escape maneuvers; we don't have room for error."

"I'll do it then," I said. I didn't know why I volunteered, maybe out of spite. I acted rashly when angry. I could feel my eyes turning red. I exited the bridge door and entered the command room. Up a flight of stairs was the entrance to one of the turret commands. There were two on our ship, one on the port side and one on the starboard.

I entered the port-side one and looked at the many buttons. I raised my hands, then lowered them, not sure what to do. None of my training had equipped me for this…

"Come on, hey!" said a voice. I squealed in surprise, my eyes turning white in surprise, and looked up at my console screen. There were Amai and Jecra, laughing. I felt my cheeks blushing beneath my mask. Amai, who had spoken, was the first to calm down. "Listen, I'm gonna give you a quick tutorial, then it's all you." I nodded. She nodded too, then took a deep breath. "The joystick in front of you is what moves the cannons. Left, port side, right, starboard." I tested it, then looked out my dome. The cannons moved with me. In fact, if I swung it hard enough, the entire dome swiveled around. The creator of this ship had engineered the weapons so that you could swing side to side, but never be able to hit the ship itself. "The floor pedal on your left shoots the left cannon, and the right pedal the right cannon. The screen above this one," she gestured, and I looked above them, "is what you aim by. When you turn, the ship's sensors will target an incoming obstacle and tell you which cannon to use. Just push the respective pedal and you'll hit it no problem. You can see a 360-degree view around us, so you know what will hit us and when. I will steer the ship; you just blast those asteroids. Ready?" I looked at the massive screen, filled with miles upon miles of stars and rocks. They spiraled around us. One hit and we're goners…

"Ready," I replied, and swiveled the pod. Amai activated the ship's engine once again, and we were off. I kept my eyes focused on the large screen. A lone rock was heading our way. The system beeped at me when I turned the pod to face it, and a red circle appeared on the rock on the screen. Beneath the circle was the word 'port'. I smashed the left pedal and sent a red laser straight through the thing. Dust showered what around what would've been the impact point. I laughed and turned to the next one. BAM! BAM! BAM!

Amai noticed my confidence and sped the ship up. Pretty soon we were going full speed, and the planetoids flooded my screen. I whipped around, the red lasers becoming a constant stream. It wasn't long before the rocks began thinning out, and my cramping foot let up on the pedals. Then, as suddenly as they appeared, the rocks vanished. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and slipped my mask up to wipe the sweat on my face. I chuckled nervously. _What the heck just happened?!_ I thought, and felt a throbbing sensation in my head.

"Nice job MK!" said Falspar.

"Grahh!" I gasped, throwing my mask back on. I looked up at the intercom to see them all standing there. I scowled and muttered, "STOP calling me that…"

"You pulled through for us," Amai said, smiling. "Thanks to you, we made it to headquarters. That was some nice work there, prodigy."

I rolled my eyes and shut off the computer. I hopped out of the cockpit, and nearly doubled over. The pain from all my injuries hit me like a rocket and I stumbled. The world swirled around me and I hit the cold floor of the ship. My heartbeat thudded in my eardrums, and through the blur I saw the door open from the bridge. "Meta Knight!" Jecra exclaimed, and picked me up. I could see blood flowing onto his hands. Was it mine?

"The seat of the pod is covered in blood too…" Falspar said, carrying the roll of bandages.

"Hurry! Get him to the infirmary, he's bleeding out!" Amai said. Jecra opened the hangar and they dragged me out onto the launch pad. Falspar carried Nicolette the way I carried her into the Dreamer. The bright lights on the platform blinded me, and other GSA soldiers came and picked me up. Where was Nicolette? Was she alright?

"Meta Knight!" Called a sweet, familiar voice. I lifted my throbbing head and saw her running toward me. Her light grey complexion was distinct in the bright light. Her fuchsia eyes were wide with concern. Chrystal.


	8. 7 - Legend of Galacta Knight

**_Nicolette_**

 _"Why did you leave us?" Kyle begged. I couldn't see anything, and the air was cold. I could only hear voices. They guilted me, begging me to explain why I had been so weak._

 _"Why didn't you try?" my mother pleaded._

 _"You could've done something," Austin said._

 _"But you did nothing!" Alex finished._

 _"You aren't worthy of the title of a ninja," my father whispered. Then the lights came on._

 _There they were, my whole family. They looked like they had just come up out of the grave. My father was drenched in blood from the waist down, and his legs were contorted in painful angles. My brothers all had some limb bent out of shape, and dragon teeth stuck in their bodies. My mother's dress was stained in crimson, and her hair was tangled. I tried to speak, but couldn't open my mouth. It was as though someone had glued my mouth shut. Besides, I don't know what I would've said._

 _They all stood in a circle around me, each yelling at me. I wasn't good enough, I had failed, I had let them down and the kingdom... Everyone but Zac had screamed some insult. I spun to face him, and my hands went to my face. His head was misshapen so that he couldn't open his mouth...that's all I'll say. His blue eyes, once so bright and hopeful, were now clouded over and bore into my soul. Everything hateful he had to say was daggers in his gaze. I could feel tears dripping down my face, and I dropped to my knees, shut my eyes and covered my ears. I couldn't even scream in this nightmare._

 _Progressively, the insults turned to one word._

 _"Nicolette...Nicolette..." the voices said. I refused to open my eyes, lest I should see the disfigured bodies of those I loved. "Nicolette! Please, wake up!"_

 _Am I dreaming?_

I opened my eyes and was flooded by light. I gasped and squinted before looking around. I could tell I had been under the influence of anesthesia, for my vision was blurry and I wasn't 100% aware of what was happening. I only knew that my arm had an IV in it, and I was still dressed in my white evening gown. My head had been bandaged, but it felt a lot better.

"Hey there," said the voice. I squinted upwards and saw a fair-skinned woman with long, wavy white hair in gray armor. She had navy blue straps crisscrossing her abdomen with a dark blue diamond in the center, and a matching dark blue cape. Around her head was a white headband with a red gem in the center, complete with a red and white strand tied in the back. Her soft brown eyes calmed me. She had her arms folded and resting on my bed railings and had dark pink cheeks. "I'm Amai."

"Glad to see you're finally awake," said a green warrior with a red mohawk on the other side of the bed. He had a small v-shaped mask that covered only his eyes and mouth. "I'm Sir Falspar," he continued with a wink.

"He WISHES he was a 'sir'," Amai sneered, resting her chin on her arms.

"Hey, I'll get knighted soon," he retorted, leaning against the other railing. Amai rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"He and I were on the team that saved you," she explained. My eyes widened.

"So...you know Meta Knight?" I whispered. I had found my voice.

"Oh yeah, that goofball," she chuckled more. "He was on the team too, along with a guy named Jecra."

"Where is he?" I asked, sitting up. Goofball? Amai stood up and pointed to a bed behind her.

He was there alright, bandaged and hooked up to a heart monitor, but another girl was standing by his bed and holding his hand. She was a light gray and had shoulder-length hair. She wore light pink armor and a fuchsia cape, with a white sword strapped to her side. When she turned her head to look at Meta Knight, I saw her deep fuchsia eyes. She was beautiful.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"That's Chrystal," Amai replied, her back now leaning against the rails and her elbows thrown behind her.

"Are they...together?" I inquired, watching them as they laughed.

"Yeah, they've been a thing for over half a year now," Amai replied. "I don't know how he's dating her." I felt my stomach tighten. "Anyways, you've been cleared to leave the hospital. We want to introduce you to someone."

I nodded and allowed Amai to unhook the monitor from me while Falspar happily volunteered to loose the bandages around my temples.

"How long have I been out?" I asked, lowering the railings of the bed.

"About a day," Amai replied. "You're injuries weren't that serious, though. Our main concern was your temple, but because it's a head wound it bled more than it should've." I climbed out of the bed and followed them out of the infirmary. I decided I'd talk to Meta Knight later.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," Amai chuckled, leading us through the maze of hallways. She and Falspar's metal shoes echoed through the hallways with each step. Not ideal for stealth.

Eventually, we reached what seemed to be a lobby. Couches were placed along windows overlooking the cosmos, and dozens of soldiers were milling about socializing. A purple warrior with spiky blond hair parted down the middle by a silver mask sat alone on a bench, polishing a large green and yellow shield. Upon seeing us, he waved us over and greeted me.

"Nice to finally formally meet you," he said, holding out his hand. I shook it. "Name's Jecra."

"Nikki," I said, then sat down by him. The other two sat across from us on a window seat.

"Did Amai treat you nicely in the infirmary?" he teased.

"I wouldn't know, I woke up a few minutes ago," I responded, giggling at Amai's false baffled expression.

"Better watch it, Jecra, or I won't help you fly a ship again," she said mischievously. Jecra's face blushed hard under his mask, all the way to his ears.

"What exactly happened while I was out?" I questioned.

So, all three of the warriors explained their adventure to me; from the moment I hit the floor to when the Dreamer touched down on this ship, the Enterprise. I looked behind her out the large window. It showed a large landing platform, with dozens of ships coming and leaving. One massive ship stood alone, though, with a large team of mechanics working on it.

"That's the Dreamer," she said, pointing at the deteriorating hunk of metal. Pieces had flown off the hood of the ship and smashed the windshield, and someone or something had carved massive cuts in the hangar door. "She's a better ship than what she's looking like now, trust me."

"Looks like you guys had quite the mission," I said, utterly amazed at what had happened in such a short time. I also thought of my home...blown up? Anyone trying to escape the planet, along with any other life forms on the eleven other planets in the solar system, would've died. NME would've lost many of his minions too. My stomach twisted and I fought the urge to vomit. So much death...billions of lives...

"Yeah, and quite a hard one for these noobs," Amai retorted.

"Noobs?" I said, shocked. "What do you mean noobs? Who was new?"

"Amai was the only soldier in our team on that mission who was somewhat experienced," Jecra replied. "For the rest of us, it was our first mission."

Now I was the one who was baffled. "You mean that was _Meta Knight's_ first mission?" I gasped.

"Yeah, and props to him for blasting us out of a sticky situation," Falspar laughed.

"But I thought he was a Star Warrior," I countered.

"He is," Amai replied, "as are we. You can be a Star Warrior and not be a professional. He joined the service about a year ago and was proclaimed a Star Warrior for his advanced swordsmanship. The Captain dubbed him a prodigy and is training him personally."

"Oh," I said. "Then why did he have his own battalion of troops back at the castle?"

"Those were other rookies," Jecra explained. "The Captain thought it would be a good idea to send first-timers on this mission, and have the soldiers that looked to be the most promising lead battalions."

I was silent for a moment, feeling rage build within me. I fought a hardening lump in my throat as I sputtered, "My father pleaded for help from the GSA when millions of people were going to die, and you sent us novices?!" I could hear my voice rising. Jecra raised an eyebrow at me.

"Hey, cool it, it's not like your planet was the only one being invaded that day," Amai snapped, whipping around to face me. I grimaced. "Hundreds of other planets were suffering too. Captain thinks it's part of NME's plan to spread us thin, but we sent our best troops to the planets who needed it most. We did a pretty good job at Arkiva too; millions of your citizens were saved."

Still angry, I thought, _Yeah, millions, but none of those were my family. And what of the other billions of people who died?_ I felt guilt rising in me as I thought about my dream. I took a moment to calm down before asking, "How long have you been in the army then if you were the only experienced one, and who is this 'Captain'?"

"Well, first, to be honest, I'm still new too," she answered, returning her gaze to the window. "I've only been on three missions before, all of which were piloting the ship and/or treating the wounded. I joined a couple months before Meta Knight. Secondly, watch your tone. The Captain's our commander. His words and orders are law around here, so be careful what you say." She glanced at me before adding, "He's a descendant of the Galactic Knight." I was confused. Amai pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Galacta Knight started the GSA a long time ago when one called NME began his reign of terror. That monster was the one who destroyed your home. The commanding position has been handed down through the years. The Captain is worthy of more respect than you believe, princess." I felt my face blush hard in shame.

"Wait, Amai, if you're still new too, how did you shoot sword beams at that dragon?" Falspar asked.

"I had some training on my home planet before I joined the army," she replied. "I volunteered for this force hoping to make a difference in someone else's life."

I sighed and looked away before forcing myself to apologize. "What's the Captain's name then?" I questioned.  
"No one knows," Falspar replied, crossing his arms. "We hardly know anything about him. Only the most elite warriors get to make his presence."

"You mean to say the only time anyone who isn't someone hears from the Captain is over a radio?" I asked. Jecra nodded.

Suddenly, an announcement came over the PA system. Warriors silenced each other excitedly as a loud, firm voice spoke. Obviously, it was a rare occasion for these soldiers to hear direct words from the Captain.

"Attention all aboard the Enterprise, please direct Miss Nicolette of Arkiva to the Captain's Quarters asap." All was quiet for a moment or two, then the commotion started again as the inhabitants of the ship began asking who Nicolette was.

"Wow, he almost always has his secretary make the announcements for him," Jecra remarked, crossing his arms and studying me.

"Yeah, it's almost as weird as the Captain radioing us personally back on the ship," Amai wondered aloud.

"Huh," I said, nervously getting to my feet. Why did this mysterious Captain want to see me? I was no elite warrior.

"How ironic," Falspar muttered, eyeing me. I suddenly felt cornered.

"I'll take you there," Amai said, suspicion clouding her gaze as she led me out of the lobby.

...

She dropped me off at a pair of large wooden doors and wished me luck. Before she could leave, though, I said, "I really am sorry for my behavior back there." She turned to face me, her suspicion changing to confusion. "I was angry because of what happened, but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful for your help. Without you guys, no one on my planet would have escaped. Heck, I would've shared my family's fate."

Amai was silent, then smiled and said, "Apology accepted. I know you're upset; victims usually are impulsive when plagued with survivor's guilt. But remember; nothing happens on accident. There's a reason you were spared, and why the Captain thinks you're special." She clapped a hand my shoulder and added, "I'm always here if you need a friend." I thanked her as she walked away.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked using one of brass handles. "Come in," said the same voice that was heard through the PA earlier. I pushed open the two heavy doors and stepped into the room.

It was as large as two of the lobbies put together with four giant oval windows lining the back of the room. Through the windows, you could see the landing platforms, gun turrets, lodging areas and training rooms on the Enterprise. In the middle of the room behind a desk sat a hot pink warrior with white armored shoes, shoulder pads, and cape. His mask was white with a pink cross-shaped cut for his pink eyes. Behind the desk was a display case with two golden horns, a pink lance, and a pink and white shield. A plaque underneath read, "Weapons of Galacta Knight". Two red, velvety chairs were in front the desk. The rest of the room was decorated with artifacts on pedestals, like a crystal and a crown. On the walls were maps of other galaxies, each speckled with red and blue Xs. Arrows were also drawn around the various planets, with names of warriors and battle moves.

"Welcome, Miss Nicolette," the man hailed. He was about the same size and shape as Meta Knight and Falspar, so I assumed they were all of the same species. "I've heard a lot about you."

"You have?" I asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Yes, your father spoke highly of you when he visited us," the Captain said, making a fist over his heart. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's..." I started, but wasn't sure how to finish. My heart ached and tears brimmed on my eyes as I thought about the recent events. "You knew my father, Hikarikage?"

"Yes, he and his clan served with the GSA as Star Warriors for a number of years," he reflected. "He and I were very good friends. You weren't aware of this?"

"I knew he served in the army before he married my mother, but I wasn't aware he was a Star Warrior."

"Well, he said promising things about you. He described your skills as exemplary, and hoped one day you could lead your clan as a sensei." He studied me thoughtfully before continuing. "I know your family's loss has been hard on you; Hikari was one of my closest friends and allies. However, we cannot dwell in the past. Whoever you were before you came here, that person doesn't exist anymore." I narrowed my eyebrows. "What I'm asking is...are you willing to join the army?"

I jumped a bit when he asked. "Why did you want to personally ask me this?" I asked.

"Because I believe you are a Star Warrior. However, since it's not hereditary, there's only one way to find out," he answered, getting out of his chair and began pacing in front of me. His white cape billowed behind him, despite there being no breeze. "I know you have had previous training, so I am willing to instruct our Sensei Yamikage to help you master ninjutsu. Once you have proved to be a master, you can be an elite among us."

I thought about it, then asked, "My father told me I was close to mastering this martial art; could I train in another art while finishing this one?"  
"Which one were you thinking of?" he inquired, stopping his pacing and giving me a sideways glance.

"I've had partial training in fencing...perhaps someone might be willing to train me in swordsmanship too."

"Are you thinking to start a new method of fighting?"

"Possibly, but only if someone would be willing to help me. I can combine my prior knowledge of swords and chi and make something no one, not even NME, has seen before."

He resumed his pacing and asked, "What is your motivation for this?"

"The same motivation you had to ask me to join," I replied, getting out of the chair and wiping tears from my eyes. "Revenge on Nightmare for Hikari."

He looked at me head on, and his eyes gleamed. "Your training begins tomorrow," he said, and turned away, his cape blowing in an invisible breeze.


End file.
